Singer songwriter PJ Harvey has spent the last few years collaborating with photographer and filmmaker Seamus Murphy on a series of films. The two are continuing their working relationship with a new book, which Bloomsbury just acquired called The Hollow of the Hand.
The poetry/photo book is inspired by a series of trips that the two made together to Kosovo, Afghanistan and Washington in recent years. “Gathering information from secondary sources felt too far removed for what I was trying to write about,” explained Harvey in a statement. “I wanted to smell the air, feel the soil and meet the people of the countries I was fascinated with. My friend Seamus Murphy and I agreed to grow a project together – I would collect words, he would collect pictures, following our instincts on where we should go.”
There will be a hardback edition which will highlight the photography, as well as a reader’s paperback version. The book is slated for publication in Fall 2015. Alexa von Hirschberg will edit the work from the UK and Kathy Belden will edit the book in the US.